Speakers
Description
Hidden-sector extensions of the Standard Model predict a neutral partner of the neutron ($n'$), leading to oscillations between visible and dark baryonic states. We propose a Mach–Zehnder interferometer with very cold neutrons to detect this phenomenon. By combining controlled phase shifts, tunable magnetic fields, and material potentials, the setup maps $n \to n'$ oscillations into intensity modulations, enabling a resonant search. Accounting for realistic experimental constraints—including flux, field homogeneity, and stability—the setup can probe mixing amplitudes down to $\epsilon_{nn'} \sim 10^{-14}$ eV for mass splittings $\delta m \sim 10^{-9}$ eV. This configuration accesses a previously unexplored parameter space, establishing precision neutron interferometry as a direct laboratory probe of dark sector physics.